Will a starved horse catch up?

[partlycloudy]

In your opinion, or experience, will a starved youngster gain its full height?

I have a 3 yr old paint/perch x that should probably reach 15.2-16 hh but stands about 14.3 now. He was bought at auction from a breeder gone wild dispersal sale. He was skin and bones and a big worm belly 2 months ago, and is now filling out nicely(worm belly just about gone due to 2 wormings) and is very rump high.

Do you think he will catch up?

[crazy gray horse]

I think how long he was neglected plays an important role in his recovery.

I have a TB that I got as a just turned 3 yo. He was neglected (ie: starved) for nearly 5 mo. He was 15.3 and just about 700 lbs. He had already gained 75 or so from the people that had rescued him and 5 others from the owner. It is now 4 years later and he is a robust 1300 lbs and stands a proud 16.2.

[partlycloudy]

Well, I am assuming he has been starved pretty well from the get-go...the broodmares at the sale were walking skeletons. He looked like a yearling, but vet concurs that he is 2.5-3 yrs old.

[fivesocks]

My gelding was neglected from the time he was weaned at 4 months until the age of 13 months. I knew him and the farm he was at during the neglect and I know he basically stopped growing while he was there under those conditions. Once I got him, I was concerned that his growth might be permanently stunted. I contacted the breeder (who was not the neglectful farm) and found out he was expected to mature at 15.2 to 16hands. With good feed and hay of course he immediately grew like a weed and now at 7 yrs of age, he is a solid 16 hands!

I know 9 months of starvation isn't nearly as long as your horse's case of 2.5 to 3 years, but hey, I don't think its unreasonable for the horse to grow another 3 inches at his age, especially with good nutrition, so he probably can hit 15.2.

[Tamara in TN]

In your opinion, or experience, will a starved youngster gain its full height?

Do you think he will catch up?



no....stunted is stunted...you can make them glossy and shiny and do all sorts of cosmetic things to hide it...but stunted is stunted

[EiRide]

I found this on-line:


"By the end of the first year, the foal has reached 90% of its height. The only exception is the foal that has been nutritionally deprived (starved) and its growth stunted. Mother Nature watches out for these foals with a condition called compensatory growth. With proper feeding during the second year, the foal's compensatory growth will approach--but probably not completely achieve (depending on the extent of the stunted growth)--its full genetic height." from http://horsedoc_org.tripod.com/feeding_foals.htm

[Thomas_1]

It depends:

Was the mare nutritionally deprived when she was carrying and feeding him till he was weaned?

How long was he starved?

What ages?

Chances are though if he's 3 now that he's not going to grow in height a huge amount more.

You also need to resist the temptation to throw food at him and risk him getting fat.

It would be a good idea to get your equine vet to give you some specific specialist advice on feeding and exercise to optimise his development.

[Hip]

In my experience, he probably won't gain the full height. However, with good feed and hay and wormings, you'll probably see a 'spurt' upwards but not to the expected height. His head may look a little large compared to the rest of his body, that's almost a sure-fire way of telling if he's been starved during his young years. Even with some of the 'generous' headed breeds, his head will still look a bit out of place so to balance it out, try to keep him in good flesh.

Even if you'd gotten him when he was younger, he may still have been a little behind because even in utero (sp?), it makes a difference. Not much but if you have big plans, then it might come into play. If he's going to be a saddle horse or a local horse, then probably not, wouldn't notice it. Also, depends on how he's bred, the blood and how tough they are but as for your original post, my above paragraph stands.

ETA: For some unknown to me reason, I've had horses at the ages of 6-7 yrs old do a spurt upwards too. Doesn't seem to matter what the breed was, just some horses do whether they were starved at a young age or not.

[MaresNest]

It depends:

Was the mare nutritionally deprived when she was carrying and feeding him till he was weaned?

How long was he starved?

What ages?

Chances are though if he's 3 now that he's not going to grow in height a huge amount more.

You also need to resist the temptation to throw food at him and risk him getting fat.

It would be a good idea to get your equine vet to give you some specific specialist advice on feeding and exercise to optimise his development.

Always the voice of reason, Thomas. :)